What was your first album?

[Superchief]

I also listened to my older sisters albums alot. I am pretty sure the 1st album is bought with my own money was But seriously folks, by Joe Walsh

I was listening to my old James Gang albums the other day and had forgotten how many great songs they had. Each song was unique and innovative.

 

[Superchief]

Smoke on the Water / Deep Purple

I am not sure that this was " the first" album - but it certainly was played until the grooves were worn down .

Deep Purple 'In Rock' was one of my first albums and had the song 'Hush' on it. This was prior to Ian Gillian, but the singer was really good. There were also a few good cover songs, including 'Hey Joe'. I think my first album was either Cream Disraeli Gears or the first Animals album.

 

[Superchief]

I still have my Magnepan speakers. I bought them direct from the factory which is only 10 miles from our house. DW wasn't to happy with having such big speakers in the family room. They still looked much better than the black particle board speakers that I built.

I played in a rock band and had custom made PA speakers from Lawson. These each had 2 12in SRO speakers and a horn and sounded best when played loudly, but had very clear sound. I used them for my stereo. Luckily, I lived in a very sound proof apartment with music loving neighbors.

 

[Superchief]

How about something off the wall?

Uriah Heep - Look At Yourself

That is a great album and I loved the 'mirror' cover. Uriah Heep had so many great albums and songs and should be considered for RHOF along with Jethro Tull and Kansas.

 

[jp10558]

For awhile, it was hi-fi, then high end stereo, then quadraphonic/surround sound. Once MP3 players came out, it seems like sound quality didn't matter anymore. People ripped and shared MP3's with low sampling rates, used crappy MP3 players, with crappy earbuds. Players and earbuds got better, but people stopped buying decent speakers for audio, just for their emersive A/V system. Car systems got better too, but there's only so much you can do in one of the worst acoustic environments possible. Of course, with my loss of hearing, high fidelity doesn't matter much unless I remember to put in my hearing aids.

We have gone through the same thing with Videos / YouTube / Streaming too. The amount of people who get excited about 4k or 8k or 12k in cameras is insane given for almost everything outside of maybe a theater is going to be consumed either at a much lower resolution or bit rate or physical size that IMO worrying about over 1080p recording is for spec sheets and not real life. I suppose just like with photos there's cropping after the fact, but you literally could run a few 1080p cameras for different angles and composition for the costs of a decent 8k camera, forget about storage and computer power.

Rant about ill informed bigger numbers better over.

 

[pedro47]

My first album purchased was by Johnny Mathias , I cannot remember the title of the album. It’s Not For Me To Say and It’s Wonderful and Wonderful was on the album by Columbia Records Company.

I was a member of the Columbia Record Club.

 

[pedro47]

Gosh, I don't remember my first album. I usually made my own cassette recordings from the radio, and my parents had a lot of records. I guess it might have been a kids sing-along cassette of public domain or cheaply licensed songs sung by some unknown chorus, I think when my grandmother got me my first "boom box" in I want to say 1986 or so. I was never that into music, mostly used it to fall asleep. I might have bought my first CDs from one of those music clubs, and it was a bunch of like Garth Brooks, CCR, Alan Jackson etc circa 1999. TBH, I basically stopped buying music once Napster hit in 2000ish? My dial up could still get one song in 40 minutes or so? And college and the T3s were "instant". Now with youtube having uploads of pretty much every song and music video I just go there.

I guess I must have bought Kid Rock, Nickelback and The Offspring also around 2000ish on CD, but I really never bought too many, and the only CD player I have anymore is I guess technically a DVD Player in the living room or my DVD Rom on my tower computer. I had a Creative Zen player back in 2004ish with the 30GB hard drive, and I recall listening to ZenCasts (before the iPod existed so pre-podcasts).

Sounds liked you listen Mitch Miller sing along on the radio and television. LOL

 

[WinniWoman]

Right now I'm listening to Ian and Sylvia's album In The Early Morning Rain. It was a present to me about 60 years ago. BTW, it's the mono version.
View attachment 102661

I'm listening to it on this equipment which is only about 50 years old, and still working nicely.

What's the first album you owned? Do you still own the album? Do you still own equipment that can play the media for that album?

The Beatles “ Yesterday and Today”.

I remember being afraid to tell my alcoholic, conservative father that I bought it, but when he came home from work in a good mood I laid it on him and he was surprisingly fine with it.

I got rid of all my albums, 45’s, 8 tracks, cassettes and CD’s years ago. (well- I do have a couple of CD’s I used in my car, but now I use a USB in there)

 

[Rolltydr]

I know I had other albums before, but the first one I specifically remember buying is The Beatles, better known as The White Album. I remember it because none of the stores in the small town I lived in (Clanton, AL) had the album. The Beatles were not popular with the older generation in Clanton who had never forgiven John for his statement that the Beatles were more popular worldwide than Jesus. Thankfully, my mother was more forgiving and took me to Selma, about 45 miles away, where I bought the album. The first time I listened to it, I thought, “what is this”? It was so different and I didn’t like it. Silly me! It quickly became my favorite album and has remained so all my life. I no longer have a vinyl copy but had two or three of those before replacing them with the CD version. I now have two different Apple Music digital versions.

 

[tombanjo]

 

[TheHolleys87]

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It would be interesting to see the prices for each. My first album, Meet the Beatles, cost $3 in 1964. (In New Orleans, if that makes a difference.)

 

[artringwald]

It would be interesting to see the prices for each. My first album, Meet the Beatles, cost $3 in 1964. (In New Orleans, if that makes a difference.)

For $3 it must have been stereo. I think mono records were only $2.

 

[PigsDad]

What's the first album you owned? Do you still own the album? Do you still own equipment that can play the media for that album?

Great idea for a thread! My answers:

1) Styx Grand Illusion, bought at a used record store (had to save where I could! )
2) Yes. Have never gotten rid of any of my albums (although one or two were loaned out and never returned )
3) Yes, a basic "stereo" set probably from the 1970's. I don't have any fancy phonograph equipment.

Kurt

 

[TheHolleys87]

For $3 it must have been stereo. I think mono records were only $2.

No, it was mono because that’s all we had. After a couple of years of whining and begging, I finally got my dad to buy a stereo by listening to his favorite Wagner opera on our old 1940s record player with him, and he could hear it dragging.

 

[rboesl]

My first album was a gift from my grandmother, of all people. It was the Monkeys - Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones Ltd. Drove my father nuts playing it all the time.

The first one I bought with my own money was The Beatles- A Hard Days Night. I was very surprised that it also had orchestral instrumental tracks on it.

 

[Brett]

It would be interesting to see the prices for each. My first album, Meet the Beatles, cost $3 in 1964. (In New Orleans, if that makes a difference.)

Which is over $30 in 2024 dollars.
Now that songs are essentially free online doesn't seem like a bargain at Tower Records

 

[artringwald]

I know I had other albums before, but the first one I specifically remember buying is The Beatles, better known as The White Album. I remember it because none of the stores in the small town I lived in (Clanton, AL) had the album. The Beatles were not popular with the older generation in Clanton who had never forgiven John for his statement that the Beatles were more popular worldwide than Jesus. Thankfully, my mother was more forgiving and took me to Selma, about 45 miles away, where I bought the album. The first time I listened to it, I thought, “what is this”? It was so different and I didn’t like it. Silly me! It quickly became my favorite album and has remained so all my life. I no longer have a vinyl copy but had two or three of those before replacing them with the CD version. I now have two different Apple Music digital versions.

Thanks for reminding me about the White Album! I never got the CD version so I haven't listened to it in many years.. After digging around the basement for awhile, I found the record. I'm listening to it now.

 

[Luvtoride]

Jimi Hendrix, Are You Experienced.
Not a typical purchase for a 12 year old, but I had some musically progressive friends that introduced me to this amazing artist!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[WaikikiFirst]

I'm listening to it now.

Look at that turntable. A work of art. Think of all the engineering taht went into it. Then realize: it all was replaced by BITS

 

[hotspot]

Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

It was a double album, on the cover was Travolta wearing the iconic white suit in the iconic pose, on a dance floor lit with multi-coloured lights.

 

[jp10558]

Look at that turntable. A work of art. Think of all the engineering taht went into it. Then realize: it all was replaced by BITS

Just consider how much engineering went into a computer / cellphone / etc...

 

[easyrider]

I'm thinking the first album I bought was either Steely Dan Can't Buy a Thrill or Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road . The only one left is the Rolling Stones Some Girls. Unfortunately, while moving on a hot day, most of my records were heat damaged. By then I was already using cassettes more than albums anyway.

Nice thread !! Most of the music brought up on this thread is music I like but haven't heard for years or decades.

Bill

 

[x3 skier]

George Benson. Don’t recall the title but the cover was an ash tray filled to overflowing with cigarette butts.

First 45 was Glenn Miller.

WCKY in Cincinnati used to have a slogan “Little records with the big holes and the big records with the little holes “.

 

[artringwald]

It's no surprise, but judging from the first album titles, most Tuggers are near or well past retirement age.

 

[pedro47]

View attachment 102722

Now I pray that the 1985 Compact Disk return in lifetime. LOL